US Urges Adherence to Bilateral Anti-hacking Accord Amid Concerns Over China’s Cyber Law

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi during the roundtable talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing in July. (Photo : Getty Images)

The United States has called on China to fully adhere to an anti-hacking agreement signed last year amid U.S. concerns about China's new cyber security law, during a meeting between the two countries on Thursday, Dec. 8.

A Reuters report quoted National Security Council spokesman Ned Price as saying that the concerns were raised during a meeting on cybersecurity between U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun.

The report said that included in the said agreement, which was signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington in 2015, was a pledge from both countries to avoid hacking activities for commercial gain.

According to the report, Rice expressed her concerns to Guo "about the potential impacts" of the cybersecurity law that China adopted in November, which was aimed at preventing hacking and terrorism.

Many criticized China's new law which they said threatens the closure of foreign tech companies that are believed to be "critical" of China, which also includes the strict requirements for security evaluation and data storage on servers in China.

Meanwhile, rights advocates said that the law will also further intensify the limitations imposed on The country's Internet, which has been under strict control of the Great Firewall, seen to be the world's most sophisticated online censorship mechanism.

The meeting between Rice and Guo occurred after the third round of high level talks on cybersecurity between China and the United States, which started Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Earlier this month, U.S. tech companies such as Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp., among others, filed their objections to the regulation, The Wall Street Journal reported.

China's Technical Committee 260, the country's cybersecurity standards maker, released the document containing the discussions and objection of the tech companies.

The government requires software companies, network equipment manufacturers and other tech suppliers to disclose their proprietary source code to show that their products are not prone to hacking or had not been compromised.